Dallas Stars Blog

Adam Burish expected to return; Lehtonen in goal against Detroit

The Stars expect to have Adam Burish and Krys Barch available for selection Thursday against Detroit.

Both suffered fractured orbital bones in fights against Boston Feb. 3 and have been out since. Both have plates in their respective faces, so they should not suffer additional damage. However, Burish will wear a college-style wire cage and Barch will wear a Plexiglas bubble cage. Neither will be fighting (possibly for the rest of the season).

Aaron Gagnon was sent to the Texas Stars to make room. He was up on “emergency conditions,” so he didn’t have to clear waivers.

My guess is Burish comes back into the lineup and Barch comes back Saturday against Nashville, but we’ll see.

“I’m so excited to be back. It’s the most frustrating thing in the world to be out for any reason, but it’s even more frustrating when the team isn’t winning and you’re not able to do anything about it,” said Burish. “I just want to get out there and help and bring positive energy and have fun. I think we need to go out there and have fun, and hopefully we can do that and get back to our winning ways.”

Frisco, Tex. – The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has activated forwards Krys Barch and Adam Burish from the team’s Injured Reserve list. The Stars also announced that center Aaron Gagnon has been assigned to the Texas Stars, Dallas’ primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Barch, 30, has missed the last eight contests due to a facial injury suffered on Feb. 3 at Boston. He has played in 32 games for the Stars this season, scoring one goal and one assist for two points and 80 penalty minutes. Barch signed as a free agent with Dallas on July 18, 2006.

Burish, 28, has also missed the last eight games due to a facial injury suffered on Feb. 3 at Boston. He has appeared in 52 games for Dallas this season, scoring seven goals and four assists for 11 points with 77 penalty minutes. Burish signed as a free agent with Dallas on July 1, 2010.

Gagnon, 24, has appeared in 19 games for Dallas this season, recording two assists, including his first NHL point (Dec. 6 at Columbus). The 5-11, 186-pound center has skated in 35 games for Texas, collecting 18 points (11g, 7a). Gagnon led the Texas Stars in scoring in 2009-10 with 58 points (27g, 31a) through 77 games. The Quesnel, British Columbia, native was signed by Dallas as a free agent February 2, 2007.

The Stars will take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena (6:00 CST, FOX Sports Southwest, Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket).